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before the angels of God. The very words in which the exclusion of the unrighteous is pronounced, are indicative of that preparation which is really an habitual and an acceptable preparation. He says to them, Verily, I know you not. And by our faith and practice we must be known: we must be known by the bias of our affections, by the earnestness of our prayers, by the sincerity of our desires after godliness, by the devotion of our souls and bodies to him, ás bought with a price, and therefore bound to glorify God in our bodies, and in our spirits, which are God's. These graces wrought in us by the operation of the Holy Spirit, will keep alive the flame of true piety within our hearts. Then shall we have our lamps burning our vessels replenished with the oil of the sanctuary, and at whatever time the startling announcement of the bridegroom's approach may be heard, we shall be able to trim our lamps to meet him; we shall be ready when summoned, because we shall be found watching. "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of man cometh."

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SERMON XXIV.

THE HAPPINESS OF THE BLESSED.

REVELATION vii. 14-17.

These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them to living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

THE Book of the Revelation of St. John, which contains prophecies that are as yet but partly fulfilled, may appear to present greater difficulties to the reader, and to afford perhaps less of practical instruction, than other portions of scripture, as many of the subjects of its pages are but

partially understood. But the humble inquirer after truth needs not to despair of finding in it many things that will repay his anxious study: for here also, as in other parts of holy writ, are things profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness. Speculations upon the times and the seasons, which, we are told, the Father hath reserved in his own power, may indeed oftentimes leave the heart barren of any practical improvement. But it cannot be otherwise than productive of godly hope and of pious consolation, to learn that the plans of redemption will at length be finally completed, in the triumph of God's mercy over the designs of the evil one: and that in his own good time he will take the kingdom to himself. It may not be possible to ascertain, with satisfactory clearness, the wonders of that state of blessedness to which we trust the Redeemer will hereafter introduce us; but it must animate our hopes, and urge us to the pursuit of godliness, when we find that those delineations of our heavenly inheritance which can be made intelligible to our finite capacities, embrace the purest and the loftiest of moral and intellectual enjoyments, the perfect freedom of the service of God, the absence of sin and sorrow, the favour of our God and Saviour, the enjoyment of his presence in light; in short, all that can attract the hopes, and engage the affections, of the renewed heart.

The beloved disciple was permitted to give us some imperfect though bright anticipations of the state of the church triumphant; and though even the tongue of the beloved disciple must have failed, in the attempt to portray with accuracy the realities of these our future prospects, yet probably, as far as human capacities can comprehend them, the nature and extent of our future blessedness may be traced in the beautiful language of the passage before us; especially if we compare it with other portions of the sacred volume, in which spiritual blessings are depicted under similar imagery; and in which the privileges of the church on earth are compared to the security, and plenty, and happiness of some favoured land, the garden of God's own planting, the lot which the Lord hath blessed.

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In the passage before us we have a description. of the state of the blessed in heaven. The apostle saw a great multitude which no man could number, out of all nations, and kindreds, and people, standing before the throne, clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands; and they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb."

To the inquiry respecting these happy beings, one of the elders is represented as answering in the words of the text, describing at once their character and their employments, their privi

leges and their blessings. They have come out of great tribulation, and their robes have been purified and made white in the blood of atonement. They are admitted to the presence of God, and they serve him day and night, without weariness and without fainting. They have been freed from all the wants and sorrows, they escape all the dangers and the sins of mortal existence they abide continually before him, whose merciful love wipes away every tear from their eyes, and fills them with joy unspeakable.

Let us meditate, humbly yet hopefully, on this delineation of the future prospects of the servants of Christ let us consider the reality of those anticipations that come like a bright vision upon the eye of faith, as it penetrates the gloom that often surrounds our path: let us, with all humility and reverence, attempt to catch some faint glimpse of that which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, but which God hath prepared for them that love him.

And first, let us notice the sources of this happiness of the blessed.

Their happiness arises chiefly from the more perfect intercourse and communion with God.

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They are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them."

Communion with God is the highest privilege

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